Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the twin brother of former UFC and PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, will reportedly make his UFC debut at UFC 106 on November 21 in Las Vegas, likely against Brazilian striker Luiz Cane.

According to Sherdog.com, both fighters have verbally agreed to the contest and are now awaiting paperwork that would finalize the bout. UFC 106 will be headlined by Brock Lesnar defending his UFC heavyweight title undefeated contender Shane Carwin.

— Former EliteXC lightweight champion K.J. Noons and UFC veteran Terry Martin each picked up respective wins in the world of boxing this weekend. Noons earned a unanimous decision over Randy Pogue on Saturday night in Pala, California while Martin knocked out opponent Rayvon Wilson in the second round of their Friday night bout in Hammond, Indiana. [MMA Junkie]

— Chute Boxe product Murilo “Ninja” Rua has reportedly been tapped to replace Antonio Rogerio Nogueira against Alex Steibling on the Bitetti Combat 4 card, which takes place on September 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nogueira withdrew from the card last week and current speculation has him joining his older brother, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, in the light heavyweight ranks of the UFC. [Fighters.com]

- The Ultimate Fighter 1 veteran Alex Karalexis has suffered an injury that will prevent him from fighting Anthony Pettis at the upcoming WEC: Cerrone vs. Henderson bout in Youngstown, Ohio. [WEC]

- Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos was forced to withdraw from his upcoming bout with former U.S. Special Forces operative Tim Kennedy after he suffered a knee injury while training for the September 25 bout. [The Fight Network]

- UFC Fight Night 19 took a hit today when lightweight Kyle Bradley was forced to withdraw from his bout with Sam Stout after suffering an injury during training. No replacement for Stout has been announced. [MMA Junkie]

Quick results for Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” show last night are below. Fedor Emelianenko scored a first-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski to retain his WAMMA heavyweight belt in the main event. More coverage to come.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for Affliction Entertainment’s second PPV effort, Day of Reckoning. The fight card will feature Fedor Emelianenko defending his WAMMA Heavyweight Championship against former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Andre “The Pitbull” Arlovski. The event is set to take place on January 24, 2009 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

There were a few future bouts revealed over the weekend involving some pretty interesting participants. Let’s get right to them…

— Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has revealed that he is attempting to match Phil Baroni and Duane Ludwig together for a welterweight showdown that would take place at a yet-to-be-announced event early next year in either Denver or Seattle. Baroni remains undefeated since moving to 170 lbs., winning a decision over Olaf Alfonso in his last bout. Ludwig has struggled as of late, splitting his last four bouts, albeit against much better competition. (Paul Daley, Takanori Gomi)

— Manny Gamburyan has told MMA Weekly that he has agreed to take on fellow lightweight Thiago Tavares at UFC 94 on January 31 in Las Vegas. Bout agreements have not yet been sent out, but paperwork is expected to be taken care of over the next few days. “He’s a phenomenal fighter,” Gamburyan said when asked about Tavares. “I’m really happy I’m fighting him. With a good victory, that’s going to put me on top for sure.”

— World Victory Road has officially announced that former PRIDE standout Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has signed with the organization and will go up against Moise Rimbon at Sengoku VI on November 1 in Japan. Nogueira last fought in Affliction’s debut show on July 19, stopping Edwin Dewees in the first round. Rimbon, a Europe Top Team product, submitted K-1 kickboxer Peter Graham with a rear naked choke at Sengoku IV in August.

Despite taking a fight against fellow welterweight contender Thiago Alves at UFC 90 next weekend on short notice, American Kickboxing Academy product Josh Koscheck has stated that he still wants to fight Yoshiyuki Yoshida at the UFC’s scheduled “Fight for the Troops” event on December 10.

During a conference call to promote UFC 90, Josh Koscheck confirmed that he plans to fight twice in the next sixty days. First, Koscheck takes on Thiago Alves in the co-main event on October 25th. Then, If Koscheck comes out unscathed, he will have a six week turnaround to prepare for Yoshiyuki Yoshida on December 10.

A welterweight bout between IFL veteran Brett Cooper and undefeated prospect Patrick Speight will reportedly finalize Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” card, which will take place on October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV according to a report by MMA News.

Affliction VP Tom Atencio was said to have confirmed Cooper vs. Speight as the final bout to be signed for the event yesterday. Both fighters were originally scheduled to be part of Affliction’s “Banned” show on July 19 but were removed from the card due to unknown reasons.

Tito Ortiz was nowhere to be found at today’s Affliction press conference in Las Vegas, fueling speculation that may not have signed with the promotion after all. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Affliction Entertainment held a press conference earlier this afternoon at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to confirm a quartet of fights and reveal broadcast details for the promotion’s scheduled “Day of Reckoning” event, which will take place on October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

Among the bouts officially announced today by Affliction Vice President Tom Atencio included two previously reported bouts: a rematch between IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko and longtime divisional contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and a middleweight contest between former UFC standouts Vitor Belfort and Matt Lindland.

Vladimir Matyushenko. Photo courtesy of the International Fight League.

A potential rematch between IFL light heavyweight champion Vladimir Matyushenko and longtime divisional contender Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is reportedly likely to take place at Affliction Entertainment’s recently announced “Day of Reckoning” event, which will take place on October 11th at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV in Las Vegas.

The news comes from Brian Knapp of Sherdog.com, who has learned from sources close to the organization that the bout has been offered to both fighters and is expected to be accepted on both sides as well.

Since suffering a highlight reel knockout loss to Andrei Arlovski over five years ago, Matyushenko has reeled off nine straight wins, most recently a successful IFL title defense against Jamal Patterson this past April. Nogueira scored a first-round TKO of Edwin Dewees at Affliction’s “Banned” show last month. The two originally faced off at a Universal Fighting-Arts Organization show overseas in 2002, where Matyushenko scored a unanimous decision over Nogueira.